


Blackmail is Such an Ugly Word

by RobberBaroness



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Blackmail, Crack, F/M, Fallout Kink Meme, Infidelity, Out of Character, Soap Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 05:58:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3598995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobberBaroness/pseuds/RobberBaroness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone in New Vegas has a soap opera-worthy dark secret.  Every.  Damn.  One of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blackmail is Such an Ugly Word

**Author's Note:**

> On tonight’s episode of "Shadows Over Vegas", the part of Vulpes Inculta will be played by Neil Patrick Harris.

Both of Courier Six’s lovers were men of action. They were strong, hard, sweet when pleased and vicious when angered. Both carried with them danger and death, leaving behind bodies anywhere they went. Either one would break her mother’s heart, and neither one would grant her peace or solace.  
  
With such great options, how could she possibly choose?  
  
She gazed out the window as Craig Boone kissed her neck, body responding but her mind wandering. What would Vulpes think if he could see her now? She’d never promised to be true to either, and both knew of each other’s existence, but still it felt like betrayal. Her heart ached when she thought how cruel she was being to the men she loved, but not enough to stop two-timing them.  
  
“I want you to marry me,” whispered Boone between kisses. “We’ll go on down and get the papers drawn up real fast. I swear I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world.”  
  
“Boone...” She turned to him, unsure of what to say. Those eyes- how could she say no when he looked so deep into her soul? But how could she say yes when it would mean losing Vulpes?  
  
“Boone, you know I can’t do it. You know what kind of woman I am.”  
  
“Believe me, baby, I know better than anyone what kind of woman you are. And still I want you, Courier Six- or should I call you something else?”  
  
She missed a breath.  
  
“What?”  
  
“I see a lot through my scope, baby. And when I keep quiet, people forget to watch what they say. I know the Mojave’s secrets like my own diary, and I know Courier Six was shot and killed by Benny Gecko.”  
  
“You know that’s not true. I survived, the Doc rescued me-”  
  
“He rescued a runaway Fiend girl who collapsed on top of a shallow grave. When he woke you up and gave you a fresh set of clothes, you decided to play along with it. Better to be a courier with a respectable job and a fortune to track down than just a raider on the run from her boyfriend!”  
  
She raised her hand to slap him, but Boon was quicker. He grabbed her by the wrist and shook his head while she stammered in fury.  
  
“You’d blackmail me into marriage? You monster!”  
  
“We’re both monsters, baby. We both did bad things, and maybe together we can make something of ourselves. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think you’d be happy in the long run.”  
  
The Courier jerked away from him and sat down. Damn him! Damn him and his sly smile, that voice which snarled her darkest secrets and still tugged at her heart.  
  
“We’re meant to be, and you know it. I’ll see you when you’ve had some time to think it over.” With that, Boone stepped out of her door and she collapsed on her bed.

 

***

 

It had been hard for Boone to make Six cry, but it had to be done. She was playing with dynamite, and it was better for it to go off now than when that filthy Legionary had his hands on her. If he could truly make her love him, maybe it would all have been worth it- maybe all the hell he put himself through after the loss of Carla would have made him into a good husband. Besides, war was drawing close, and whether Six liked it or not, they all had to take sides.  
  
Walking back to his room, the last person Boone wanted to see was Arcade Gannon. Everyone's best friend, even after they'd found out the truth about him. Well, once they were all taking sides for the war, they'd see where the Enclave boy's true loyalties lay.  
  
"Going somewhere, Craig?" The doctor leaned against the wall, blocking Boone's path.  
  
"What's it to you?"  
  
"Oh, not much. You've been spending a lot of time with the Courier, haven't you?"  
  
Boone wasn't going to dignify the obvious with a response. Arcade was up to something, that much was clear, and Boone had decided long ago he couldn't be trusted. The more Arcade toyed with them, the firmer Boone's mind was made that someone in the NCR had to be informed about the war criminal.  
  
"You're in my way," Boone growled. Arcade just grinned infuriatingly.  
  
"Ooh, touchy. Don't worry, she likes you. And I won't do anything to change her mind."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, what do you think she'd do if she knew the truth about your wife?"  
  
Thankfully, the Courier's door was still shut- she couldn't hear a word of Arcade's. Boone grabbed him by the lapels and shoved him up against the wall.  
  
"My wife's dead," he snarled. "She knows the story." Arcade could barely gasp a response.  
  
"The story, maybe. But the truth? I'll bet you want to marry that girl. It would be too bad if she knew your first wife was still alive."  
  
Boone dropped him like an active mine. Nobody knew the truth- nobody except him and Carla and their immediate superiors! How could some Enclave doctor know what no one else had found out, not even the Frumentarii? That machine! He'd known they never should have kept the Enclave eyebot around. Who knew how much it had reported?  
  
"You never shot your wife," continued Arcade, "because Jeannie Mae had played into both your plans. What better way to sneak an undercover operative into Legion headquarters than to have her captured? Once she was taken away, she disappeared again- always was a mistress of disguise. This would be her best yet, complete with a mask so that nobody could suspect-"  
  
"You wouldn't!" Boone struggled to keep the pleading edge out of his voice. "The NCR needs her information. You wouldn't reveal her identity now!"  
  
"No, I wouldn't. Just like you wouldn't reveal mine as an Enclave boy to the NCR."  
  
Arcade gave a seemingly innocent laugh.  
  
"Can't we both agree to let bygones be bygones?"

 

***

 

Arcade cackled to himself. His plans were working perfectly! The pathetic fools of the Mojave were easily set against each other, and with the sniper out of the way, no one could possibly stop him from becoming the richest and most powerful man in the Wasteland. The Courier would certainly never suspect her loyal ally of betrayal, and when the time was right, he could arrange for a little accident- just as he had done time and time before.  
  
There was only one problem- Veronica. She'd been poking around in places she didn't belong, and sooner or later she might find out who he really was. And so it was natural that his heart skipped a beat when he returned to his room and found her sprawled across his bed reading a magazine.  
  
"Finally. I thought you'd be gone all day!" Her chipper tone did little to hide the malice in her eyes.  
  
"Veronica. I know you too well to think you're about to try and seduce me. What do you want?"  
  
She giggled and tossed aside her reading material.  
  
"I've been doing my homework, baby. You're a real piece of work, you know that?"  
  
"Come to the point or get out!"  
  
"Considering my point, you should be glad I didn't jump right to it. The Brotherhood keeps records of its enemies, and one of those enemies was a group called the Enclave. They were supposedly ruled by a sentient computer that crashed after it downloaded a porn-encased virus."  
  
Arcade turned from her so that she'd be unable to read his expression, but her words pounded like drums in his head.  
  
"But what most people don't know is that the computer was a fake. Their real leader survived and fled west after his defeat. Isn't that right, President Eden?"  
  
Arcade Israel Gannon (born John Henry Eden) stuttered for a moment, unable to say a word. Finally, he dug out his wallet.  
  
"How much do you want?"  
  
"Baby, I got all the caps I need. What I lack are allies. I believe in the Courier, and to defeat the Legion she's going to need allies. You're not going to double-cross her; instead, you're going to give over all your Enclave resources like a good boy. And should anything mysterious befall her...let's just say the NCR might like to know what you're up to."  
  
Arcade spat at her, impotent in his fury.  
  
"Fine. But get out!"

 

***

 

Veronica wasn't a bad girl at heart, not really. Certainly she was well-intentioned, though knowing that didn't tend to make people think any more highly of her once they realized she'd conned them. She'd been through so much sorrow and pain that she deserved a place to call home. A place of peace and prosperity, not one of petty tyrants and conservative politics like her birthplace. New Vegas would be a heaven on earth, and she had enough allies to pull it off.  
  
Thus, it shouldn't be surprising that she was on close speaking terms with Vulpes Inculta. The Legion was such a spider's web of spies, counter-spies and counter-counter-spies that she sometimes wondered if there was anyone left in it on the same side as anyone else. Vulpes was particularly tricky, and she still wasn't entirely sure who called his shots, if anyone. But for the time being they were aiding each other, and close enough to share cocktails on sad nights.  
  
Whoever his real boss was, it certainly wasn't the man who'd banned hard liquor.  
  
"That sniper!" Vulpes slurred. "They say she's going to marry him! How could she make such a foolish mistake?"  
  
"Maybe it's because she thinks you're going to use her, discard her and crucify her like all of your other lovers" Veronica suggested. Vulpes waved his hand in dismissal.  
  
"Only two of them! I gave her everything, and she holds little things like crucifixion, homophobia and my mysterious but abusive childhood against me. You have to help me, Veronica!"  
  
She snatched away his fedora, and Vulpes was too drunk to grab it back. Veronica still wasn't sure his being drunk wasn't just an act, but she still felt pity. As much pity as her jaded heart could feel, anyway.  
  
"I'm many things, Mr. Fox, but a good wingwoman isn't one of them."  
  
"Surely you can do something. Plant lies that Boone is cheating, tell her about the purity of my affections, anything."  
  
Veronica got up, shaking her head. It had been a long night, and if all her companion was going to do was babble, she should probably end it. Vulpes, however, grabbed her by the sleeve as she attempted to walk away.  
  
"If you don't," he hissed, "I'll tell her who really blew up the Brotherhood bunker. It certainly wasn't House." Vulpes sounded much less drunk; in fact, just by listening to his threats, Veronica felt herself growing more sober. She bit her lip, then threw his fedora back at him in lieu of any other response.  
  
As she stomped out of the bar, she thought she could hear his laughter behind her.

 

***

 

The Courier wept into her hands, unable to turn Vulpes away. He was understandably upset at her upcoming marriage, and there was nothing she could say to assuage him. She certainly couldn't tell him what hold Boone had over her; he would never want to touch her again if he'd known she'd been a Fiend. And though she knew she should make a clean break of things, the thought of losing him was more than she could bear.  
  
"Don't hate me, Vulpes! I can't live without you."  
  
"It certainly seems as if you can. Why else should you marry that Profligate scum?"  
  
"If only you knew..." She went to kiss him, but he turned away.  
  
"I'll kill him, then."  
  
"No!" she gasped.  
  
"So you do care for him more than me!" The Courier stammered and could not look him in the eye. In spite of everything she did love Boone, but it was impossible to choose. She knew it was unfair, but it wasn't as if she was happy about it. When Vulpes went to leave, all she knew was that she had to stop him.  
  
"Wait! Can't we work something out? Don't kill him, we'll just meet in secret."  
  
"For the rest of our lives? That hardly sounds appealing."  
  
"Please, darling. Think how good I've been to you! For instance"- there was an almost imperceptible change in the tone of her voice-"not telling Caesar who was drugging his water supply and making him think he had cancer."  
  
Vulpes turned back, eyes wide. He clearly hadn't realized she'd figured it out before. But it was obvious to anyone who'd observed the situation closely that Vulpes was angling to replace his boss, and it hadn't been hard to put the pieces together.  
  
"Are you trying to blackmail me into being your lover?"  
  
The Courier smiled and put her arms around him.  
  
"I wouldn't say that. Just reminding you. After all, blackmail is such an ugly word."


End file.
